


1989

by truth_renowned



Category: Agent Carter (TV), Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-18
Updated: 2018-02-18
Packaged: 2019-03-21 00:46:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,618
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13729557
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/truth_renowned/pseuds/truth_renowned
Summary: SHIELD sets their sights on an American organization with ties to HYDRA. Set in 1989.





	1989

**Author's Note:**

> This likely flies in the face of Marvel and AoS canon. Sorry, not sorry.

Peggy looked out at the men gathered in the conference room. Daniel and Jack were seated at the front, engaged in a conversation about the latest intelligence on the matter at hand. Three of her male agents were seated in a cluster together, while the fourth was a few seats away. That didn’t surprise her at all.

She overheard the three agents talking, though they assumed she wasn’t listening. They should know by now that she always was listening.

“Wow, three bigwigs in the same meeting,” Agent Spencer tossed out. 

Agent Holtz gave a lopsided grin. “I know. Must be serious.”

“Sounds like the opening line of a joke,” Agent Bramwell said. “The director, assistant director for intelligence and assistant director for logistics walk into a bar.”

The three agents snickered. The fourth did not. 

“Come on, Fury,” Bramwell said. “That was funny.”

Agent Nick Fury met Bramwell’s gaze but the dour look on his face didn’t change. 

Bramwell shook his head. “Dude, lighten up.”

“Like that’ll ever happen,” Spencer said.

Peggy thought about breaking up the conversation but she knew Nick Fury could stand up for himself. Fury was a force to be reckoned with, not only because of his unwavering expression. He was a tall, bald, dark-skinned man with bright white teeth he rarely showed, certainly not in front of his fellow agents. Peggy had been treated to one of his fleeting smiles, and it completely changed his persona in the few seconds it made an appearance.

Although he was new to SHIELD, Fury was fast becoming Peggy’s star agent. He had no fear, which usually was a bad thing, but in the case of a SHIELD agent, it was an asset, and something she could relate to. His intelligence was unmatched by any of the other agents, including Peggy’s senior people, and she hadn’t known such a strong strategic mind since Chester Phillips.

The door to the conference room opened, and Peggy’s secretary, Ashley, escorted in a young man dressed in a navy blue suit, including vest and conservative tie. He had receding brown hair and an apologetic look on his face. Ashley left, closing the door behind her.

“Sorry I’m late,” the young man said. “Never been here before and I drove right past it.” He looked around the room, his expression changing from apologetic to nervous with a hint of terrified. He took a seat next to Fury, who didn’t acknowledge his presence.

“That’s quite all right.” Peggy eyed each of the other agents. “Everyone, this is Agent Phillip Coulson.”

“Call me Phil,” he said with a small wave and self-deprecating grin. 

“Agent Coulson is from the communications unit. He will be assisting us on this mission.”

“Which is…?” Holtz tossed out.

“I’m glad you asked, Agent Holtz.”

She tacked a photograph to the corkboard, then turned around to face the agents. She saw Agent Spencer’s eyeroll but ignored it. Other ‘bigwigs,’ as Spencer liked to say, used projectors and other such technologies in meetings. Peggy preferred to go ‘old school’, as it were. There were no glitches or need for the information technology gents with a corkboard and pushpin.

“This is Alexander Wagner,” she began. “He is the leader of a neo-Nazi organization called the National Resistance Vanguard. This cell started as a smaller group in upstate New York but has extended to much of the eastern seaboard.”

“Neo-Nazis and white supremacists have been around for years,” Bramwell said. “Why is this different?”

“Because,” Peggy replied, “we believe this particular cell has ties to HYDRA.”

She could have cut the thick silence with a knife. She smiled internally, knowing she now had their undivided attention.

“Assistant Directors Thompson and Sousa will explain,” Peggy said, motioning to Jack.

She took a seat as Jack stood and relayed the intel he had, which was vague but from a reliable source: Alexander Wagner made several trips to Austria and Switzerland, known favorites for HYDRA. He was spotted leaving a suspected HYDRA base in Austria, and the cell’s headquarters was the recent recipient of numerous packages, contents unknown. That was the extent of the intel, other than the National Resistance Vanguard growing exponentially in membership, weapons and finances in a period of six months.

She fought back a smile as her boys -- that was what they were to her, despite both men being in their seventies -- played off of each other’s words like a professional tennis match. Both men had aged well, Daniel with his salt-and-pepper curly hair, and Jack with his still-slicked and still-blonde hair (thanks to the new hair dye called Just For Men). Daniel had been sidelined by a wheelchair lately, but that didn’t slow him down and certainly didn’t lessen the respect of his agents. Crows feet and smile lines had deepened with time, but their minds and determination were just as strong. As was their relationship. 

And that relationship was… complicated was the best word, perhaps. She and Daniel married in the late 1940s. Jack was an on-again, off-again fixture in their lives since then. He'd tried his hand at marriage, twice, then divorced, twice. He always came back to the Sousas, and for the past fifteen years, he had stayed. The three of them being involved personally and professionally should have been difficult, but it wasn’t. She couldn’t explain why, and didn’t want to explore it, really. If it weren’t broken, why try to fix it?

Peggy snapped out of her mental walk down memory lane when she heard Jack wrapping up his briefing.

“The director will fill you in on each of your roles,” Jack said, sitting down.

She rose from her seat. “Assignments are as follows. Agent Bramwell, you and Agent Holtz will be going undercover to infiltrate this cell. Agent Spencer, you will be our eyes and ears electronically with the assistance of Agent Coulson.” She turned to Fury. “And you, Agent Fury, will be in charge of this operation. In the field, you all will report to him. He will report to me directly.”

For the first time, Peggy saw a quirk of Fury’s eyebrow.

“Wait a minute,” Bramwell said. “I’m senior agent here. Why is he in charge?”

Peggy turned her attention to Bramwell, her face as placid as a waveless lake. The agent, who had the height and girth of a linebacker, visibly shrank in his chair.

“I do not have to explain my decisions to you, Agent Bramwell,” Peggy said flatly, “but in this case, I will indulge you. This cell, as well as other white supremacist cells, operate as paramilitary organizations. We have no better military mind here than Agent Fury. If you do not approve of my decisions, any of you, I am certain I can find other agents who would. Is that clear?”

Mumbles of “yes, ma’am” and “yes, director” bubbled up from all of the agents, Fury included.

“Very well,” Peggy continued. “This mission will be your only case for the time being. Each of your current caseloads will be transferred to other agents. Those agents have been chosen and are waiting for you to brief them. I suggest you get to it, as we will convene again at fourteen-hundred to further discuss logistics. Thank you, gentlemen.”

She turned her back to the agents, facing the corkboard to remove the image of Wagner and also discouraging any of the agents to approach her for discussion. Shuffling commenced as the men left the room. She heard the door close, turned and saw that Daniel and Jack were still in the room.

“Well, that is a ragtag bunch, isn’t it?” Jack said with a smirk.

“Not ragtag at all,” Daniel responded. “I think these are wise choices in personnel.”

“You would, since you’re the logistics guy. You were doing the choosing.”

“Not true, Jack,” Peggy said. “I made the personnel decisions for this one.”

Jack looked at Daniel, who nodded.

“Care to share why?”

“I don’t have to explain my decisions to you, Assistant Director Thompson, but in this case, I will indulge you.” She tried to keep a straight face but ended up smiling when Jack sneered at her. “Agent Bramwell is a born actor and Agent Holtz is a master of disguise. Both are very needed if they are going in undercover. Agent Spencer is a whiz at technology, and Agent Coulson, while very wet behind the ears, is the best our communications team has when it comes to electronic surveillance. And Agent Fury is in charge for obvious reasons.”

“That’s gonna cause some serious friction,” Jack said.

Peggy shrugged. “So be it. This is the best team we can possibly assemble. These agents will learn to put their egos aside for the benefit of the mission.”

Jack leaned toward Daniel. “She’s always been an idealist.”

“That’s why we love her,” Daniel quipped, cracking a smile.

Jack nodded in agreement, then said, “You know Bramwell’s got racist tendencies, right?”

“Which will make his undercover work more convincing,” Peggy responded. “Agent Fury is abundantly capable of keeping the agents in line. Agent Bramwell will learn that first-hand.”

Jack shrugged and rose from his seat. “Okay, boss. It’s your call.”

Daniel hit the joystick on his wheelchair, backing away from the table, then motioned for Peggy to go before him. She did, and he followed behind her.

Jack reached the door first and put his hand on the knob, but instead of opening the door, he turned to Peggy and Daniel.

“You sure about this, Marge?”

She smiled at the decades-long nickname, no longer an insult but a term of endearment. “I'm positive, Jack. We have a good plan and a strong team. It’s time to kick some Nazi ass. Again.”

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this a while ago but never posted it. The idea of having Peggy, Fury and Coulson working together was too enticing. Not sure it's worth continuing, though, so for now it's a one-shot.


End file.
